Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today received a courtesy visit from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who paid a visit to Malaysia in an effort to increase bilateral defense cooperation.
Wang who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held a four-point meeting with Anwar which lasted for 25 minutes from 3.17pm at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel.
Anwar and Wang then held a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir; Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing; Transport Minister Anthony Loke; Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang; and Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
The meeting marked the importance of bilateral trade relations between the two countries, which saw China remaining as Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009, with a trade volume of US$110.6 billion (RM488 billion) in 2022.
In terms of investment, China was the largest foreign direct investor in Malaysia last year with investments amounting to US$12.5 billion (RM55.16 billion).
Total exports to China increased 9.4 percent to RM210.62 billion (US$47.84 billion) in 2022 while imports from China saw a 20.7 percent increase to RM276.50 billion (US$62.78 billion) in the same year.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Malaysia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the two countries will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, marking a long-standing friendship and robust cooperation in various sectors.
